old bike shifters

deacon

deacon

minor bike philosopher
If anyone has an old bike shifter and would like to donate it (will pay shipping gladly). I need a few to use as throttles on home brew bikes. I have looked on ebay but 10 to 25 bucks each is a little steep on a bike motor bike you are trying to build for under a hundred bucks.

Please let me know I really would prefer used ones.

PS think of this as a public service.. by doing this you will allow me to free up a brake handle to be a brake lever. I can put a front brake on the bike and probably save my life.
 
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how would that work, deacon? would you use your thumb? does there need to be a spring return involved?

i may have what you need and seeing as how i get a kick out of your projects, i would be more than happy to help further your experimentation in some small way :-)
 
I have one on my china bike and it is easy to do. On the china bike I took it apart and removed the lock plate., which made the shifter move freely. On the home brew bikes the spring is on the end of the cable. It pulls the main throttle cable back so that the throttle spring on the carb will work. It isn't strong enough to pull the whole length of the cable. the throttle throw is only about an inch on these engines so it doesn't take a lot to rev them up.

If you do have a shifter of any kind I will be more than happy to pay the shipping and show you exactly how it was used.

I would like all i can get actually, I plan to build more bikes and they are by far the best throttles I have found for homemade projects. I think if I ever run across one of those old fashioned long handled shifter It might make a great clutch handle as well.

I would love to be able to make a throttle from scratch but so far the shifter is the best thing I have found. It would free up a brake lever to use for a real front wheel brake.
 
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well, i have a nice little thumb shifter that mounts on the handlebars that i'm not gonna be using. i'll look inside and see if there's a removable lock plate like you mentioned. i wish my camera was working, darn it!

i'll see what else i have that might work. i love to see things get a second life.
 
You know, that's a really good idea. I had thought of this a while back as well. I even thought of using a left-hand grip shifter to actuate the clutch.

Only worry of using a thumb shifter as a throttle, is your thumb could get tired pretty quick.

Can't wait to see what you come up with.
 
hi; i found the thumb throttle worked well. local police depts usually sell off many bikes, sometimes thousands, once or twice a year. so a plethora of parts is available for pennies. mitch
 
Just pm me with the amount and your paypal account and I'll send the postage immediately to anyone and everyone who has a shifter to donate to the great bike builder in the sky or if not him me.

My thumb never gets tired on the china bike so I guess I can live with the weedy bike. Actually I kind of like it once I got used to it. That piece of thin plastic that they called a throttle didn't last a day with my heavy handed riding style.

When they have the next police auction if I can find it I'm going to rent a uhaul and load up. If I had a truck there is a salvage/ metal scrap yard in the next town that is pulling the bikes from the scrapper and selling them off for next to nothing. I just don't have a way to get a load of them home.
 
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